<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Hallmark-worthy night by buckysknifecollection</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28344264">Hallmark-worthy night</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckysknifecollection/pseuds/buckysknifecollection'>buckysknifecollection</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pining</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:01:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,473</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28344264</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckysknifecollection/pseuds/buckysknifecollection</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You invite your crush to the Avengers Christmas party, but he shows up with someone else. Bucky swoops in to save your night and ease the heartbreak.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>80</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hallmark-worthy night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Yes, hi, I am indeed alive. I'm sorry I'm not posting as often as I used to. I'm tired and I don't have enough creative juices to finish WIPs.<br/>Anyway, happy holidays everyone. I hope you're having a good time eating nice food and getting some rest. Thank you for reading my fics, leaving kudos and comments - I appreciate it so much ❤</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Isn’t the tree beautiful?!” Wanda exclaimed as she admired the multicoloured ornaments and lights, glitter still on her hands from when she stuffed them in the sparkly reef on the door upon arrival.</p><p>“It sure is. Mister Stark really out-did himself with the decorations.” You chuckled at her excitement as you waited for her to take the glass of eggnog you had poured for her.</p><p>“Ah, don’t call him that. You’re part of the team now. Either call him Tony or Human Headache, like everyone else.” The redhead smirked at you, fully aware that the man in topic was right behind her and was giving her a nasty look. You only laughed at their antics and sipped on your drink as you looked around the room.</p><p>It’s only been about three months since you had been transferred from SHIELD to the Avengers team, your skills invaluable for the type of missions they handle.</p><p>Since you didn’t feel that close with most of the team just yet, you were surprised to be invited to their big Avengers-only party. It was organised in a big, fancy cabin upstate, now decorated to the very tip with light strings, colourful bulbs, tinsel and a ridiculous amount of reindeers and elves.</p><p>You were delighted to know you were allowed to invite a plus one and when Jared from your old squad (whom you’ve had the biggest crush on since day one) agreed to go with you, you couldn’t help but squeal into your pillow like a schoolgirl.</p><p>You decided to go all out and wear the cute deep green glittery suit you bought just for the occasion. The shade was more flattering than you initially expected it to be and the material soft enough to at least partially calm your nerves. You opted for flats instead of heels - you didn’t feel like breaking an ankle on the snow and ice covered streets.</p><p>You were ecstatic, the night was starting off with you floating from one person to another and striking up small talk, just taking your time getting to know people better. You literally felt yourself glowing with happiness. Everyone complimented you and you were giddy for Jared’s arrival.</p><p>You hoped to swoop him off his feet with your looks tonight and hopefully he’d finally ask you out on a date. You’d even made a mental note of the location of each bundle of mistletoe hung around the room, you were sure you were getting kissed tonight.</p><p>Classic Christmas songs were filling the air, you were in the middle of a conversation with Wanda, sipping on some more eggnog, when Jared arrived at the cabin. He was late, but you understood, he’d informed you in the morning that he had some work to do, plus the weather conditions weren’t ideal for driving all the way upstate from the already clogged up city of New York.</p><p>A smile crept up on your face the moment his profile popped through the door, greeting Pepper and Tony at the entrance.</p><p>“Someone’s excited…” Wanda grinned at you, a perfect eyebrow lifted in amusement as she watched you straighten up your clothes a bit and start walking to the door to greet your guest.</p><p>“Wish me luck, Wan.” She shot you a thumbs up and shooed you away. You chuckled and turned to the door again, mentally prepared yourself for what you were going to introduce Jared as and maybe try your luck and kiss him on the cheek.</p><p>You stopped in your tracks the second another person appeared next to him.</p><p>Jared must have misunderstood your invitation to be your date at the party and decided to bring along a girl you didn’t even recognise. Judging by her hand tightly held in his and the kiss he leaves on her cheek, you figure they have been close for a while.</p><p>You suddenly feel like someone stabbed you with an icicle, but also like you stuck your face in the fireplace, all at the same time. You tried your best to not let everything inside you shatter like a fragile piece of glass, but you were sure you stayed in that room any longer, all the eggnog you had drank would end up on the floor.</p><p>Wanda’s small hand gently rubbed your back as she whispered your name.</p><p>“That’s that, then.” You murmured and made a beeline for the bar.</p><p>You definitely needed something stronger and some time alone to collect yourself. You weren’t going to make a scene, act all jealous and possessive over a guy that wasn’t even your boyfriend. You had hoped he would become just that after tonight, but that ship has sunk to the depths of the ocean.</p><p>Half a glass of scotch in hand, you discreetly climbed the stairs in search of a private place, where you could deal with your heartbreak on your own and without any audience.</p><p>_ _ _</p><p>Bucky spent most of the evening with Sam and Sharon by the billiard table, where Sharon was handing them both their asses. He was enjoying the party, it wasn’t very crowded and he knew almost everyone, he felt comfortable.</p><p>The only thing keeping him distracted was <em>you</em>.</p><p>He’s been attracted to you since the first day he met you. Pretty smile, eyes sparkling, excellent fighter and wickedly smart. He was glad when you joined the team, because it meant he could get to know you better.</p><p>Unfortunately he fell for you fast and hard, but you obviously had your eyes on someone else. It was never a secret you liked a guy from your old team and every time you were invited out, you would go on and on how excited you are to see him.<br/>
To Bucky, it was clear that the guy must be a complete idiot, if he had no interest in you. That was the only logical explanation to why the guy’s known you for a few years but still hasn’t asked you out. Bucky’s only known you for a total of three months and he already had a mental list of restaurants he thinks you’d like.</p><p>But Bucky would never bother you when he knew you were interested in someone else. Even if every time you came back home sad that still nothing happened between you and the guy, he never interfered or said anything. It was your life and you were the one making choices. If you didn’t want to give up and move on, that was your decision and he respected that.</p><p>Tonight though, he was struggling. He knew you invited Jared as your plus one. Apparently he was busy with something and would be late so you caught a ride with Sharon, Sam and himself. Bucky didn’t understand - if you had invited him anywhere, Hydra could be setting the world on fire and he’d drop everything for you.</p><p>Since the moment you stepped into the garage to meet them, Bucky felt breathless. You looked gorgeous, stunning. Where most women at the party were dressed in sparkly dresses, you opted for a suit that highlighted your figure perfectly. The rich green material looked stunning on. Bucky was distracted by your blinding smile when the last guests arrived to the party.</p><p>It was Jared and Bucky didn’t bother hiding the eyeroll.</p><p>“<em>Oh no</em>.” Sharon’s horrified whisper sounded next to him.</p><p>“Wait, is that Jared?” Sam leaned in closer to have a better look.</p><p>“He did not bring someone with him, did he?”</p><p>Sam let out a loud sigh. “Looks like he did. <em>Damn</em>.”</p><p>Sharon was right, the fucker did bring someone else with him. He was supposed to be your plus one, but instead he had brought one of his own. A nice looking girl, a few years younger than you, probably a new recruit.</p><p>Bucky wondered if he should snap the wooden cue in his hand and stab the guy with the sharpest end or if he should just beat him with the whole thing.</p><p>Bucky ignored Sharon and Sam angrily whispering to each other and looked back to where you were standing. He was heartbroken to see your expression - eyes wide and unmoving from the scene in front of you, mouth slightly agape and your pretty face lost it’s usual brightness.</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky saw the guy kiss his companion and only then did you take your eyes off him. You looked at your almost empty glass, swallowed hard and excused yourself with a forced smile. He watched you grab a new drink and climb the stairs slowly towards the guest rooms on the second floor.</p><p>“Bucky.” Sharon called in a warning tone.</p><p>“<em>What</em>?” Both her and Sam had their eyebrows raised in expectation and Bucky was truly tired of their meddling. Bucky sighed.</p><p>“I know, she’s upset. She needs her space and I’ll leave her alone. She probably doesn’t want to see me anyway.”</p><p>“I was gonna say let go of that stupid stick and go to her, but alright, suit yourself.” Sharon shrugged.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Bucky, I swear, for such a smart guy, you’re a real dumbass sometimes.” Sam set his cue down and glanced around the room. “Wanda! Come here for a moment!”</p><p>Wanda, your closest friend in the team so far, was by their side in mere seconds. “You saw it all, didn’t you?”</p><p>“Yeah, that was real heartbreaking.” Sam sighed again, but quickly got to business. “Listen, weren’t you preparing some spiced hot chocolate earlier?”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Can you heat up two cups so Bucky can go console poor Y/N?“ Sam winked at a sputtering Bucky.</p><p>"Bucky? Why-” Wanda’s gaze turned to Bucky and her eyes widened instantly. “Oh.”</p><p>“Hey, get out of my head!” Wanda rolled her eyes. </p><p>“I didn’t even need to read your mind, it’s written <em>aaaaaall </em>over your face.” She drew a circle in the air, making sure Bucky knew she meant the <em>entire </em>face, that obvious fool.</p><p>“Two hot chocolates coming up.” She immediately turned to the kitchen before Bucky could say anything else.</p><p>Soon Bucky was climbing the stairs carefully, two steaming mugs of hot chocolate in his hands. They smelled ridiculous and he was sure if he opened his mouth, drool would spill out. Wanda did a great job on these drinks - there was a mountain of marshmallows on the top too. If nothing Bucky told you cheered you up, these tooth-rotting monstrosities definitely would.</p><p>He expected to find you in one of the empty guest rooms, but you were standing at the end of the hall, staring out the window. The moon was bright and the tears on your cheeks caught the pale light.</p><p>Bucky briefly considered bringing you Jared’s head on a platter but he was pretty sure there weren’t any empty ones laying around.</p><p>He sighed at his own dramatic ideas and approached you slowly, giving you enough time to wipe the tears you didn’t want anyone to see.</p><p>“Brought you something.” He handed you one of the mugs. You seemed to hesitate for a moment, but accepted the offering anyway.</p><p>“You saw it too, huh?” You clicked your tongue in frustration, but didn’t look at Bucky, only picked marshmallows off the drink. “How embarrassing.”</p><p>Bucky didn’t really know what to say to you, he simply didn’t want you to be alone when you’re hurting. He glanced out the window, where it started to snow again, and simply shrugged. The two of you stood there for a small while, you seemed lost in your thoughts and Bucky hoped you weren’t blaming yourself.</p><p>His mug of chocolate was half empty when he decided to speak up again.</p><p>“Want me to go kick them out?”</p><p>To his surprise, you snickered and finally looked at him. He was glad to see you weren’t crying anymore but there were tears still staining your cheeks. He set his mug on the window sill next to your empty glass from earlier and reached in his pocket for the packet of tissues Sharon made him carry. She was still a bit sniffly after her cold two weeks earlier, but her dress didn’t have pockets, so she stuffed all her tissues in Bucky’s and Sam’s pockets.</p><p>Bucky took one out of the packet as you watched curiously. He handed you the tissue, giving you plenty of time to put yourself together, as he leaned on the wall next to you. He let himself slide to the floor with a sigh.</p><p>“You tired already?” You asked teasingly, sounding like your usual self again. Bucky shrugged.</p><p>“There are never any chairs in these parties. I’m not getting any younger, you know.” That made you laugh so hard you clutched at your stomach.</p><p>Bucky was sure the alcohol you’ve drunk made him sound a lot funnier than he was, but it was a relief to see you laugh, he always liked it. He pulled you down by the hand to join him on the floor. He slung his arm around your shoulder and let you relax against him.</p><p>“That sucked.” You said with a sigh.</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“I really liked him, you know? Now I just feel stupid.”</p><p>“You’re not stupid.” Bucky hurried to disagree. “It’s him that’s stupid.”</p><p>The way Bucky grumbled and pouted was adorable, you thought, and it was really nice of him to bring you hot chocolate and kept you company. Normally, you wouldn’t want anyone around you in this situation. But Bucky has been nothing but sweet to you since day one and you cherished your friendship.</p><p>You’ve suspected for a while that he might have feelings for you, but you appreciated that right now, he was only being a supportive friend. You needed it more than you liked to admit.</p><p>“Come on, don’t think about it so hard.” Bucky’s whisper brought you out of your thoughts. “You know the whole team is currently plotting against him, right?”</p><p>You burst out laughing again, Bucky joining you too. The following silence was more comfortable, you didn’t feel like you were hurting that much anymore and Bucky didn’t feel like he was intruding. You still dreaded the idea of going downstairs though, Bucky could tell you were nervous from how you were playing with one of the rings on your fingers.</p><p>“Let’s get out of here for a bit.” He suggested before he could stop himself.</p><p>“What do you mean?” You sat up straight to have a good look at him. Bucky gave you a small smile.</p><p>“Let’s go for a walk or something.”</p><p>“It’s cold, Bucky.” You chuckled at his eagerness to get away from the party. Truth be told, you wouldn’t mind a small break from it yourself, but it was cold and you were not dressed appropriately for a stroll through snow.</p><p>The man stood up with a low, but clearly exaggerated whine. He offered you his hand, which you accepted and let him help you up.</p><p>“Come on, Y/N, I have an idea.” Bucky smiled at you sweetly and pulled you downstairs.</p><p>The two of you found Bucky’s friends, still hanging out by the pool table. It looked like Sharon was teaching Wanda how to play, while Sam watched the two women with a fond smile. Bucky approached Sam, speaking quietly, before a bright grin lit up Sam’s face as he looked at you.</p><p>“Hell yeah!” He chuckled, but you weren’t sure what he was so excited for.</p><p>Car keys in hand, Bucky shook his head. In minutes, the two of you were heading for the car you’ve arrived in, coats and scarves wrapped tightly over your bodies to keep the cold away.</p><p>You didn’t ask where Bucky was taking you, it didn’t really matter. The car was pleasantly warm before you even left the parking lot and some local radio station was playing Christmas songs. With one last smile thrown your way, Bucky drove off, slowly taking the car down the hill and onto the empty main street.</p><p>There weren’t many buildings nearby, the cabin was remote enough to provide some privacy. The first source of light that you come across, other than the moon and the car’s headlights, is a small gas station about ten minutes away. To your surprise, Bucky took the turn and stopped right in front of the shop’s door.</p><p>“What are you <em>doing</em>?!” You giggled when he jumped out of the car and disappeared inside. You watched Bucky move from one corner of the store to the other, gathering items and taking them to the register.</p><p>You’ve known Bucky for a few months and part of you knew this already, but once he left the store, a plastic bag hanging at his elbow and two steaming cups in his hands, you were hit with the realisation that he is utterly adorable.</p><p>“For you.” Bucky offered, passing you one of the cups. You took the plastic bag from him as well and let him get comfortable in his seat while you investigated the contents.</p><p>“More chocolate?” You giggled at the sight of various chocolate bars and different candies he picked out.</p><p>“The buffet at the party is great, don’t get me wrong,” Bucky said as he put on his seatbelt. “but nothing beats plain gas station snacks.”</p><p>“If you say so.” You took a sip from your cup, which turned out to be hot chocolate. Bucky’s sweet tooth would get you into trouble with your dentist, but you still loved it.</p><p>The radio got turned up a little, so you could both enjoy new and old songs. Bucky got back on the road and headed for the nearby town. There, much to your delight, he slowly drove from one street to the next, taking his time and letting you admire all the beautiful decorations and houses shining with multi colored lights. You made a few stops in front of some bigger houses that had whole light shows set up and simply enjoyed your time together.</p><p>Bucky grabbed your hand when you were parked in front of one of those houses, which made you unable to stop smiling. By the time you were headed back, your cheeks were hurting because of it.</p><p>Bucky, you noticed, was a sweetheart. Sure, many people were still afraid of him, probably for a good reason - you have seen him in action plenty of times. But in private, he was a gentleman, with a disarming sense of humor and an awfully infectious laugh. Ever since you met him, you knew you would be friends, but you never thought of him more as more than that, mostly because you were so set on dating Jared. Now, in only an hour, Bucky managed to distract you enough from everything Jared-related, that you didn’t think of the agent even once until the car was once again parked in front of the cabin full of Avengers.</p><p>You followed Bucky to the door quietly, your anxiety growing, because you knew it would hurt again once you walked back inside. The ride with Bucky was awesome, but it wasn’t enough to fully heal all that heartbreak.</p><p>“Buck?” You called before he could go inside. Bucky turned to you with a questioning look.</p><p>“Thank you for cheering me up, it means a lot.” His face softened immediately and he ducked his head, slightly embarrassed.</p><p>“It’s nothing. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” Bucky rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding your eyes.</p><p>It was yet another proof that he was actually adorable, which made you giggle, because you still couldn’t believe it. You closed the distance between you and kissed his cheek, only making Bucky blush even more.</p><p>“Well, I’m not sad anymore. Really, thank you.”</p><p>Bucky, surprising you again that night, reached out and gently held your face in his palms, then leaned in and kissed your forehead. His lips lingered there for a few seconds longer, but you wouldn’t complain. Everything he did that night felt nice and warm.</p><p>“Come on, let’s go back inside and have some fun.” He whispered, but he didn’t fully let go of you just yet.</p><p>“Will there be more of that hot chocolate you brought me earlier?” Bucky met your eyes with a smirk on his lips.</p><p>“Weren’t you the one complaining about there being too much chocolate in the car?”</p><p>“But it was good!” You held his hand once he lowered them from your face, unwilling to let go of him just yet.</p><p>You spent the rest of the night by Bucky’s side, getting to know your teammates better and enjoying plenty of Wanda’s delicious hot chocolate. You completely ignored the guy who broke your heart, because your friends held your attention with their funny stories.</p><p>As for Bucky, maybe you couldn’t fully reciprocate his feelings now, but maybe the new year would bring something new to your lives.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>